Did Peel finish autobiography?

The publisher of John Peel's autobiography have said it is "too early to know" whether the long-awaited work will ever be published.

Transworld Books, a division of Random House, which acquired the rights to the book with a reported advance of £1.5m last year, said a question-mark hung over the title following the DJ's death in Peru this week.

Speaking after news of his death sent a shockwave through the radio industry, the Transworld managing director, Larry Finlay, said it was now up to Peel's wife, Sheila, to decide if and when the book came out.

"It's a very, very sad day," said Mr Finlay. "It's tragic and we are all very shocked."

"It's just too early to know what will happen. John said in his radio broadcasts that he was regularly getting on with the writing but a lot now will depend on what Sheila - to whom we send our deepest sympathies - wants."

Mr Finlay declined to comment on how much of the book he had already seen or how many words had actually been delivered.

In April Peel allegedly told the Mirror's Scurra column that he had written barely 1,500 words out the proposed 100,000-word manuscript.

Transworld bought the rights to the book last April, paying more for the DJ's autobiography than was paid for the memoirs of George Best and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

In his book, the DJ was expected to detail his long love affair with music - from Jimi Hendrix and The Faces in the 60s to The Fall and The Undertones in the late 70s and 80s to Polysics and the White Stripes today.